APART from perpetual sunshine, stable government at Stormont and U2 tickets, few things are as in demand these days as crossovers, writes William Scholes.
That fusion of SUV and family hatchback, exemplified by the Nissan Qashqai and Renault Captur, now accounts for almost 30 per cent of Europe's new car registrations.
Another hot trend, though yet to reach crossover levels of popularity, is the increasing availability of cars with hybrid drivetrains.
These pair an engine - almost always petrol - with an electric motor and promise strong fuel economy and low CO2 emissions.
Generally speaking, the electric motor motivates the car at low speeds over short distances, with the petrol engine taking over at higher speeds or when the batteries have been drained.
The batteries are replenished by harvesting energy from the car, for example when it's braking, or by the engine directly recharging them.
Some hybrids - unsurprisingly known as plug-in hybrids, or just plug-ins - allow the batteries to be charged directly from the mains or a special charging point via a cable.
Hybrids have proved particularly popular with company car users, whose benefit in kind tax rate is dependent on CO2 emissions.
Toyota, with its Prius and posh Lexus offshoot, has led the hybrid charge for years, and will today also sell you hybrid versions of the Yaris, Auris and Rav 4.
Other manufacturers are enthusiastically embracing hybrids - often developing them alongside pure electric vehicles - and among them is Kia.
Which neatly brings us to the car featured on these pages this week, the Kia Niro.
I kept thinking there should be a 'De' between 'Kia' and 'Niro' - what next, the Kia Valera and Kia Facto? - and, nomenclature aside, the car is more important for being both a crossover and a hybrid. As such, it ought to be marketing catnip.
Size-wise, the Niro sits between Kia's Ceed hatch and it brand-building Sportage crossover. The styling is neat and inoffensive - in crossover terms, it's not a chunky SUV-lite like its bigger brother, more a slightly elevated and elongated hatchback.
Mercifully, it has escaped being inflicted with the latest Sportage's odd snout, but there is absolutely nothing about the Niro's appearance to suggest it has high-tech hybrid gubbins beneath the bodywork.
It's a bit ordinary looking, then, which is a bit of a surprise from a company which has produced some really strong designs in recent years. If you've seen how cool the upcoming Stinger sports saloon looks, it's a bit of a disappointment.
The fuel consumption may also be a let down. The problem with all hybrids is that you are always lugging around an electric motor and heavy batteries, even when the car isn't using them; at least with your old-school petrol or diesel car, the engine is always doing something.
The way any hybrid deploys its electric energy and replenishes its batteries mean that a few drivers - say, those who have a shortish urban commute - will be able to lean more heavily on the electric element of the drivetrain than those of us whose driving is in more mixed conditions or who have a longer daily journey.
If your driving conditions are such that you can make the most of the electric part of the hybrid system, then you will experience strong fuel consumption; but if that isn't you, the Niro will still deliver decent economy, but you'll just find it slightly underwhelming and likely not much better than a similarly sized diesel crossover.
I managed 52.4mpg. A similarly-sized diesel-engined Honda HR-V I tested at the same time achieved a very similar fuel consumption figure in identical driving conditions.
The Niro hits back against its diesel rivals with its benefit in kind- and car tax-friendly CO2 emissions.
However, it is a victim of the government's new vehicle excise duty, or car tax, system which starts on April 1, though this is hardly Kia's fault.
Get your Niro registered before then - probably an impossibility now - and you won't have to give the government a penny.
But from Saturday, even the Niro's low CO2 emissions of 88g/km will cost you £100 in the car's first year, with an annual bill of £130 thereafter. Benefit in kind is a satisfying 17 per cent.
There are other positives to the Niro. First, it's a pleasant thing to drive. The hybrid drivetrain is very well implemented - perhaps surprisingly so, given this is Kia's first bash at a hybrid - and it juggles between the petrol and electric motors very smoothly.
A screen on the dashboard shows how the car is shuffling around its various power sources and recharging its batteries, but it is all commendably fuss-free. There are no flux capacitors to worry about here.
A 'keep it simple' approach extends to Kia deciding not to offer the driver any sort of manual intervention; unlike the Toyota hybrids, for example, you can't press a button to force the Niro into electric mode.
It's entirely possible that I simply couldn't find the button, though my eight-year-old co-pilot couldn't track it down either.
Toyota likes to use a CVT gearbox on its hybrids, guaranteeing sudden screaming revs when you summon full power from the engine; Kia has wisely adopted a double-clutch automatic gearbox for the Niro, meaning engine revs rise gradually. This is much more pleasant.
The Niro is clearly not a sports car and has not been set up to corner on its door handles or set fast laps at Kirkistown.
Instead, it's quiet and comfortable and the cabin is usefully roomy, with a healthy boot volume of 421 litres. Only the foot-operated parking brake, a pain for this tester and his size 12 feet, put a debit in the 'ease of use' ledger.
As we've come to expect from Kia, the Niro is well kitted out. Even the entry model gets lane-keeping and hill-start assist, cruise control, Bluetooth and DAB radio.
Whatever version you go for, the drivetrain is the same. My favourite feature of hybrids is the sensation from gliding along noiselessly in traffic, the car moving under the power of its batteries and electric motor.
The Niro brings that experience to the mainstream in a sensibly priced family crossover, and for that Kia is to be praised.
As with any hybrid thus far, unless you are BIK conscious the Niro isn't a compelling argument to abandon petrol- or diesel-only cars, but it has other virtues, including a spacious cabin and a smooth driving experience.
If you are in the market for a crossover and your driving pattern would flatter a hybrid, then take a long hard look at the Niro
AT A GLANCE
Kia Niro '2'
Price:£ 22,795 As tested £23,340, with metallic paint £545
Engine and transmission: Hybrid 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol with 104bhp and 108lb.ft paired with battery/electric motor with 32kW, six-speed double-clutch automatic gearbox, front-wheel-drive; maximum drivetrain outputs of 139bhp and 195lb.ft
Performance: Top speed 101mph, 0-60mph in 11.1 seconds
Fuel consumption: 74.3mpg (EU combined); 52.4mpg (real world)
CO2: 88g/km
Car tax: £100 in first year, then £130 annually
Benefit in kind: 17 per cent
Euro Ncap safety rating: Dual rating: Five stars, with safety pack (91/80/70/81), Four stars as standard (83/80/57/59), 2016
